


Picking Up the Pieces

by The_Little_Ladybug_That_Could



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Miraculous Ladybug Week, Multi, adrienette - Freeform, self harm mentioned, trigger warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 05:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6040180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Little_Ladybug_That_Could/pseuds/The_Little_Ladybug_That_Could
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette gets an unexpected phone call early in the morning from an unexpected person- her crush, Adrien Agreste</p>
            </blockquote>





	Picking Up the Pieces

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thomas Astruc](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Thomas+Astruc), [isaacoftheinternet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/isaacoftheinternet/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Miraculous Ladybug](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/176881) by Thomas Astruc. 



The vibration of her cellphone on her nightstand wakes her up, and with a tired protest she reaches for it, answering without even checking the caller- ID. 

“Hello?” She breathes softly, her voice coming out as a low hum. There’s a pause, and she thinks that maybe someone accidentally dialed her number, or that a phone malfunctioned. As she’s about to hang up, she hears a whimper on the other end. 

“Hello?” She asks again, beginning to wake up a bit at the sound. “Who is this? Are you okay?”

“N-no.”

That voice. It sounds vaguely familiar, but at two o’clock in the morning not everything is what it seems, and Marinette knows that her mind likes to play tricks.

“Who is this?”

Another pause. 

“It’s Adrien. Are you busy?”

Marinette shoots up, now wide awake. Adrien, the love of her life, is calling her at two o’clock in the morning. She can’t believe her luck, even if its such poor timing. Her first thought is to tell Alya, but then she remembers just how early it is, and that if Alya’s sleep is disturbed her list of apologies would barely be enough. Then it hits her- Adrien is calling her.

“No, not really. Why?” Her heart picks up the pace, anxiety now settling in as she realizes how self absorbed she had just been, because Adrien clearly wasn’t okay. Why else would he be calling her, of all people, at this time?

“I know this is a lot to ask of you, but would you mind meeting me at the park? I-” she hears a sniffle on the other end. 

“Say no more,” she is already out of her bed, throwing on whatever foot protection she can find and sneaks out onto the balcony. 

“Tikki, I know you’re not fond of me transforming when there’s no danger-”

“Or sneaking out of the house!”

Marinette winces. “I know, I know. But please, this is really important.” Marinette pouts at the little red kwami, putting her big blue eyes to good use. “There’s something wrong with Adrien.”

After a few sighs, Tikki gives in. “I guess this can be considered an emergency.”

Marinette grins as the Kwami transforms her, and she hops off the terrace into the night, rushing to the meeting spot. When she’s a few blocks away she transforms into her civilian form, cursing herself at the realization that she’s still in pink cotton pajama shorts and a thin white shirt. Surely she would freeze, but that wasn’t important to her at this moment in time. She catches her breath and calms her nerves before she continues, finding Adrien sitting on a park bench in his normal attire, head down in his hands. 

“Hey,” Marinette says lamely, taking a seat next to him and making sure to leave space between them.

“Hey,” he replies, not looking up from his current position. 

They sit in silence for a few more minutes, Marinette keeping her gaze on her choice of footwear- a pair of white bunny slippers. She blushes, hoping Adrien won’t pay any attention to them. 

Adrien takes in a deep breath. “I’m sorry for calling you so early, Marinette,”

“I don’t mind.”

“It’s just. I have no one to talk to.” he looks up at her now and gives a small smile, but she can see in his eyes that he’s hurting. “I know we aren’t that close, but since I’ve gotten to know you, you’ve shown me nothing but kindness, and I just...I needed someone.”

Marinette nods, eyes fixed on his, but not in the way they usually were. Right now, her feelings for him are pushed aside. She looks at him the way she would look at Alya or any other classmate when they’re at a low point, and with the way she’s looking at him, Adrien knows he made the right choice by calling her. 

“Everyone loves my dad,” he starts off, looking away from her now and focusing on a tree. The wind blows a leaf off of a stem and he watches as it sinks to the ground. “He’s famous for all he does, he works hard, he’s a genius, all that stuff. I hear it all the time. But the thing is, he’s a great designer and businessman, but he sucks at being a dad.”

He looks over at Marinette, waiting for her to interject, but she stays quiet, eyes trained on him as if to say ‘Go on, I’m listening.’ And so he does. 

“He wasn’t around much even when my mom was here, but when he was there he was at least bearable. He would actually smile, spend time with me and mom, he seemed happy. We were a great family, and I had never been happier. It wasn’t perfect but it-” He sighs, clenches his fists against the bench. “It was better than what it is now.” He doesn’t look over to see if Marinette is still listening or not.

Now that he’s going, he can’t stop. He feels all the words rushing to the top, filling his throat and burning him like acid. He needs to let it out before it kills him, before these poisoned feelings that have settled in his veins take him over entirely. 

“Then she left. And its like he hates me for it. B-but I didn’t do anything. She just disappeared one day and I don’t know why. How the hell was I supposed to know? I was just a kid!” His voice trembles but he tries to remain calm, a habit that he’s grown into thanks to his father’s upbringing. “He takes it out on me. He treats me like crap! ‘Respect your father, he loves you, he buys you all these gifts, bla blah blah blah blah.’ His gifts mean nothing! They mean nothing to me! I don’t want the latest video games or the best clothes- I could care less! I just want a day with him. Just- Just one day where he’s not on his phone, where he treats me like his son rather than his business partner. Is that too much to ask for?!”

“Adrien,” he can feel that she is closer now, but he won’t look at her. Her hand is on his arm, her touch gentle and soft on his skin. Her palm is warm, and the finger tips of her other hand stroke his arm as if it were a trinket, something delicate, admirable. How long had he craved a touch like this. “Can you look at me, please?”

Green orbs meet a sea of blue, her eyes watering, a frown painted on her pink lips. Was she crying for him? He couldn’t tell. All he can focus on is the goosebumps rising on her skin. He takes off his white button up and drapes it on her shoulders, but her frown doesn’t disappear. In fact, it only grows. 

“Adrien,” she says again, voice wavering. “Wh-what are those marks? There on your arm.”

He looks down and frowns, angry red lines popping out against the white of his skin. 

“Nothing for you to worry about.”

She shakes her head, covering the marks with her hands gently as if that will heal them. She doesn’t look at him, refuses to, and panic begins to rise in his chest. ‘Not her, too,’ he thinks.

“Please don’t leave,” he pleads, voice breaking. 

Marinette gasps, head whipping up to watch how his lips tremble, how his eyes water. He bites his upper lip, trying to hold back, compartmentalize. Crying is weakness. 

“Oh, Adrien.” She flings herself into him and he yelps in surprise, quickly regaining his posture but staying still. Marinette could care less. She holds onto him tightly, arms wrapped around his neck, a hand tangled in his hair, pressing his head to her chest to comfort him. Slowly, he hugs back, arms wrapping around her waist, and he pulls her closer. He hugs her just as tightly, if not tighter, and he wishes that time can stay like this, that she will never let go. She doesn’t.

“Please don’t do that to yourself.” Her voice is soft in his ear. To him, it sounds like a song, the melody of a sad tune. “Please.”

“They’re just scratches.”

“I don’t care.”

Adrien shakes his head. “No one does.”

“But I do.” The hand that is free rubs circles on his spine. He eases into her touch, finding comfort and protection in her embrace. He begins to cry, letting the tears soak her like raindrops. She just holds him tighter as he lets it all out.

“I was doing so good.” He says between sobs. He chokes on his words and Marinette hushes him, tells him to take his time. She wouldn’t be leaving him anytime soon, there was no rush.

“I hadn’t hurt myself in months until tonight. But then dad and I got into a fight. He was throwing things and calling me ungrateful. I usually just ignore it but...I don’t.. I just,” he buries his head into the crook of her neck. “He blames me for mom leaving, and its true. Its all my fault.”

“No it isn’t Adrien.”

“But it is! If I hadn’t been born-”

“Then your dad would have been without a son and would be lonelier than ever.” She lifts his chin with a finger, wiping his tears away with her thumb as she stares intently into his eyes, a look of determination on her face. “Gabriel Agreste is- I’m sorry-a huge jerk. He doesn’t deserve you as a son, especially not with how he treats you,” She frowns. “I don’t know why your mother left, Adrien, but I’m positive you aren’t to blame.”

He nods, turning his head once again to focus on the way the wind terrorizes the trees, knocking off leaves, taking all the trees have to bare. “Everything fell apart when she left,” his voice is barely above a whisper, hoarse. “My family fell apart and I can’t pick up the pieces anymore.”

He stays in Marinette’s arms even as he looks away. She rests her chin on his head, humming softly to him, trying to calm him down. It has helped a small amount- he’s no longer crying. 

“I’ll help you pick up the pieces.”

“You can’t. She left nothing behind for me to pick up.”

she continues to rub circles on his back, continuing on with her tune. He leans into her, the side of his head finding comfort once again on the cushioning of her chest.

“We can make new pieces,” she tells him, the hint of a smile in her voice. “You and me. Nino and Alya, too.”

“New pieces?”

“Mhm. New pieces. They won’t be the same, but they’re still pieces, and we’ll find a way to make them fit perfectly together.”

“But why?”

Marinette looks down at him, a small gracious smile appearing on her lips. He feels his heart warm up at the sight, a swelling of appreciation, caring, hope. 

“Because you don’t have to be alone. Not anymore,” She grasps his wrist gently in her hand and pulls it up to where she can get a clear view of his arm, then presses her lips to his skin. Both their cheeks turn a rosy pink, his body setting on fire. “Promise me you won’t do this to yourself anymore, please? From now on, call me.” She wipes a remaining tear from beneath his eye that had desperately tried to remain. “I know I can’t possibly understand what you’re going through, but I promise to listen. I will do whatever it takes to make you feel better, but its going to take both of our efforts. Does that sound okay?”

He nods softly and collapses into her embrace, realizing now that this entire time she had never let go, and for the first time, Adrien sees her in an entirely different way. Not as just a friend, or the girl he has slight (and un-admitted) feelings for. No, to him, she is much more than that. Right now, she is his rock. Right now, she is his anchor, keeping him grounded, but at the same time she was the only thing keeping him afloat. 

Now that he was in her arms, he knew that he was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note: If you or a loved one is dealing with suicidal thoughts and/or tendencies (such as self mutilation), here is a list of suicide prevention hotlines worldwide. Also, my messages and ask box are always open to anyone, whether you need someone to vent to or you need someone to talk you out of making harmful decisions. Know that you are never alone, and that there is someone out there who loves you dearly. If you do not think that to be true, know that I love you dearly. 
> 
> You can also find this story and some of my other works on my tumblr page: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/the-little-ladybug-that-could


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